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amatsaryam hris titiksanasuya yajnas ca danam ca dhrtih srutam ca vratani vai dvadasa brahmanasya "A brahmana must be perfectly religious. He must be truthful, and he must be able to control his senses. He must execute severe austerities, and he must be detached, humble and tolerant. He must not envy anyone, and he must be expert in performing sacrifices and giving whatever he has in charity. He must be fixed in devotional service and expert in the knowledge of the Vedas. These are the twelve qualifications for a brahmana." Elsewhere in the Mahabharata (Vana Parva Chapter 180) Yudhisthira explains — satyam danam ksama-silam anrsyamsam tapo ghrna drsyante yatra nagendra sa brahmana iti smrtah "A person who possesses truthfulness, charity, forgiveness, sobriety, gentleness, austerity and lack of hatred is called a brahmana." In the Srimad Bhagavatam (7.11.21) Sri Narada Muni states - samo damas tapah saucam santosah ksantir arjavam jnanam dayacyutatmatvam satyam ca brahma-laksanam "The symptoms of a brahmana are control of the mind, control of the senses, austerity and penance, cleanliness, satisfaction, forgiveness, simplicity, knowledge, mercy, truthfulness, and complete surrender to the Supreme Personality of Godhead." Having established the laksanas of a brahmana, let us see who is qualified to be a brahmana. The verse by Harita quoted by our challengers is correct so far as both the husband and the wife exhibit all the brahminical qualities referred to above, and perform the garbhadana-samskara correctly. Furthermore, both families must be able to ascertain their forefathers from Lord Brahma without any break, can confirm that their descendants had all properly undergone the ten purificatory processes (dasa samskara), can prove that there was never any intercaste marriages in their families and can establish that before each pregnancy the appropriate samskaras had been performed. Such a child born from these parents can be termed as a seminal brahmana. Such a child born to them may display brahminical tendencies but is not considered a brahmana in the true sense of the word until he is purified by samskaras. 2 Although such verses may be found to establish that a brahmana may be by birth, the scriptures also state otherwise — it cannot be ruled out that anyone may become a brahmana by the process of initiation - yatha kancanatam yati kamsyam rasa-vidhanatah tatha diksa-vidhanena dvijatvam jayate nrnam "Just as bell-metal is transformed into gold by alchemy, a common man is transformed into a twiceborn brahmana by diksa from a bona-fide preceptor." (Tattva Sagara 2.12)
So, by diksa-samskara a person who was not born in a brahmana family, but who exhibits brahminical qualities, may become a twice-born. Again, quoting Maharaja Yudhisthira in Mahabharata (Vana Parva chapter 180) - sudre tu yad bhavel-laksma dvije tac ca na vidyate na vai sudro bhavec chudro brahmano na ca brahmanah "If such symptoms are found in a sudra, he should never be called a sudra, just as a brahmana is not a brahmana if he lacks these charactaristics." Similarly, Lord Siva tells Uma in the Mahabharata (Anusasana Parva 163.8, 26, 46) — sthito brahmana-dharmena brahmanyam upajivati ksatriyo vatha vaisyo va brahma-bhuyah sa gacchati ebhis tu karmabhir devi subhair acaritais tatha sudro brahmanatam yati vaisyah ksatriyatam vrajet etaih karma-phalair devi suddhatma vijitendriyah sudro'pi dvija-vat sevya iti brahmabravit svayam sarvo'yam brahmano loke vrttena tu vidhiyate vrtte sthitas tu sudro'pi brahmanatvam niyacchati "If ksatriyas or vaisyas become situated in the behavior of brahmanas and spend their lives in the occupation of brahmanas , then such persons attain the position of brahmanas. O Goddess, by the same process, a sudra can become a brahmana and a vaisya can become a ksatriya. O Goddess, by the results of these activities and by following the agamas, then even a low-born sudra also becomes a brahmana. A person in this world is born a brahmana simply as a result of his nature. A sudra situated in the profession of a brahmana also becomes a brahmana." na yonir napi samskaro na srutam na ca santatih karanani dvijatvasya vrttam eva tu karanam "Neither birth, purificatory ceremonies, nor learning, nor progeny are qualifications for brahminical status. Only brahminical conduct is the basis for brahminical status." (Mahabharata‚ Anusasana Parva 143.50)
Page 1 and 2: Madhvacarya - dvaita - tattvavada -
Page 3: Brahmana - Vaisnava - Madhvacarya -
Page 7 and 8: naitad abrahmano vivaktum arhati sa
Page 9 and 10: vaisyah sudras tathaiva ca In Srima
Page 11 and 12: law of nature. Yet sometimes it is
Page 13 and 14: Advaitavada doctrine which is again
Page 15 and 16: determined by birth. Therefore it i
Page 17 and 18: yatraitan na bhavet sarpa tam sudra
Page 19 and 20: However, even if one only follows b
Page 21 and 22: Conversations on Madhavendra Puri Q
Page 23 and 24: Krishna, who took Krishna and Balar
Page 25 and 26: mano nivesyastamantran yatha sakti
Page 27 and 28: Madhvacarya - top vaishnava samprad
Page 29 and 30: mahan prabhur vai purusah sattvasya
Page 31 and 32: eing burned by the troubles of the
Page 33 and 34: golokam ca parityajya lokanam trana
Page 35 and 36: krmavatara-kale-yah striyo ye purus
Page 37 and 38: REFUTATION: Sri Madhvacarya also qu
Page 39 and 40: tasmann sankayeta mahajane’smin p
Page 41 and 42: tretayam dvapare ’rcayan yad apno
Page 43 and 44: CONCLUSION: Therefore it is clear t
Page 45 and 46: yada bhramam bhramam harirasagalad-
Page 47 and 48: OBJECTION: The Gaudiyas accept Nara
Page 49 and 50: Just as our Tattvavadi friends deny
Page 51 and 52: gaudiya school, he is noble and bol

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